We’ve all been faced with the challenging decision of what to do when we’re driving at full speed and the stop light turns yellow. Do you slam on the brakes or do you keep going? Those types of situations aren’t just tough, split-second calls—they can also be potentially dangerous for you, your car, and other drivers. Jaguar Land Rover wants to put an end to those situations, and it is working on the technology make sure you never get stuck skidding to a red light again.
The British car manufacturer has developed what it calls the Green Light Optimal Speed Advisory, or GLOSA. The system uses vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2X) technology to communicate with traffic lights and gather information about when the light will change. As you drive toward the intersection, GLOSA will inform you just how fast you need to drive in order to avoid getting stuck at the light — or worse, getting stuck in between and having to make a dangerous decision.
The GLOSA system isn’t widely available yet. For now, it’s being trialed in the Jaguar F-PACE, a luxury crossover SUV that already has its fair share of high-tech features including Advanced Driver Assistance that can warn about a potential collision, keep you in the right lane, and help you park. GLOSA expands the capabilities by connecting to other vehicles and structures on the road that can add information and effectively expand the line of sight for the car.
The test run of GLOSA is part of a 20 million British pound government-funded project called U.K. Autodrive. The program is designed to help expand the capabilities of self-driving and connected technology to improve safety on the roadways.
The system should not only save people from sitting at red lights for an inordinate amount of time during their commute, but it will also help to cut down on harmful accidents. If it works effectively, it should also cut down on congestion on roadways and on emissions as fewer cars will be left idling at lights. A little communication between cars and lights could go a long way toward improving the roads and the world.
BYD has launched the third-generation Qin Plus DM-i in China, and the first thing that caught my eye is its price. According to CarNewsChina, the plug-in hybrid sedan starts at 79,900 yuan, which is about $11,980. That’s an incredibly low price for a brand-new car, especially by US standards.
What’s even more impressive is the range. The Qin Plus DM-i can drive up to 137 miles on electricity alone, which should cover most people’s daily commutes without using a drop of gas. Once the battery runs out, the 1.5-liter engine takes over. Thanks to its 17-gallon tank and roughly 91 mpg with a drained battery, the combined range reaches up to 1,423 miles.
Apple won the PC market’s worst quarter, but that’s not the entire story. It won the race by stumbling less than everyone else.
PC makers shipped just 57 million computers worldwide in Q3, which might look good, but it’s a 21% year-over-year plunge (via Counterpoint Research). And despite Apple’s Mac shipments falling by 11%, to 5.6 million, its market share rose from 8.7% to 9.8%. How did that happen?
Update (October 22 23:54 PT): In response to our query, GM clarified that offline recording support is already available on eligible vehicles. Like Tesla's Sentry Mode, it requires owners to connect a USB drive to save incident recordings, which can be viewed on the vehicle's infotainment screen. The upcoming Connected Cameras feature will build on this by giving owners remote access to these recordings via the revamped OnStar app, allowing them to check footage without walking out to their car.
General Motors has announced plans to add a new Connected Cameras feature to its OnStar service starting next year, giving drivers a way to monitor parked vehicles remotely and capture footage of certain incidents.